Hey Man, Can't We All Just Get Along?
Yo, Philly in the News
Phillyist Framed Returns!
Whole Hog Is All Heart
Playlist Rewind: AFI at the Factory
While it's definitely debatable just how "southern" my Texan heritage makes me, Texas is definitely far enough south that kids take cotillion classes where they learn to do things like waltz and set a proper table. And it's the latter that I feel the need to bring up today.
You see, I've noticed an epidemic lately.
Not necessarily an epidemic of people who don't know the order in which to place the water, red wine, white wine, and champagne glasses on the table, or even an epidemic of people who put the salad fork on the inside of the dinner fork. In many ways, this epidemic is worse, because it's happening in restaurants throughout the city, and doesn't even require a full place setting. It's an epidemic of expecting diners to use the same utensils, and sometimes even the same plates and glasses, throughout multiple courses.
For the love of god, people. Maybe I don't want salad dressing in my pasta. Maybe I don't want a puddle of olive oil under my chicken. Maybe I don't want my cake to taste like steak. Maybe, just maybe, I'd appreciate a new wine glass when I switch from red wine to white – at least, if you're the one bringing the wine.
Last night at dinner, after eating a very heavy (though very delicious) caprese salad with prosciutto and a lot of balsamic vinegar, I was told to keep my fork and knife for my entree: a very light pescatore in a white wine, lemon, and garlic sauce. These are flavors that simply don't blend, and after taking one bite of my entree, I found myself wiping my cutlery off with a piece of bread, folded in half, hoping to prevent the remnants of my salad from further spoiling it. Look. I'm a total foodie. When I cook, I take pride in my food. I don't want anything to tamper with the flavors I've created for each course—including the course that came before it—and that's just when I'm cooking for two! A restaurant with a reputation for making quality food (and this one did) should have an even stronger sort of pride in the integrity of its food, and shouldn't want anything to interfere with the flavors so carefully created in its kitchen.
But using a fork and knife across two courses isn't nearly as bad as expecting someone to use the same plate. Recently, at a different Italian restaurant (this one with a "family-style" serving ethic), our entree arrived to the table, but our sharing plates did not. The waitress, rather than indicating that new plates were on their way, just told us to enjoy our meal. When we asked for plates (the only ones on the table had been our bread plates, on which rested a few centimeters' worth of olive oil and seasoning), the waitress looked first confused, and then indignant, as if she didn't understand why we wouldn't want to portion out our chicken onto our bread plates.
Even for the most casual of casual dinners at my grandmother's house, guests aren't expected to reuse their plates or silverware – and they're eating for free!
But maybe it's just a southern thing...
Image via Flickr user Chronochaser. We're not asking for anything this formal, folks – just some clean cutlery.
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Nothing get me more riled up when dining out than a restaurant that violates the "silverware rule." Are these restaurants really so cheap that they don't want to run the dishwasher one extra time that night because they've given their customers the courtesy and decency of a fresh fork and knife for each course? This really isn't too much to ask, especially when we're paying to eat at the establishments. A fresh set of silverware for each course is the least the restaurant can do.
The thing that's surprising is that some offenders are well-respected restaurants with very good food, and it's frustrating that they would disrespect their patrons in such a way. I'm seriously in favor of compiling a list of restaurants that do this and boycotting them. Enough is enough!
Yes dear, but all those manners were developed before everyone started going green. You see, do we really need all that unnecessary washing?
Someone should really develop a new set of more environmentally sensitive manners.
Also, I think that spitting unwanted or gross food onto your fork or spoon should also be revisited. Because that is fucking nasty. I don't want to see someone's partially chewed food.